Path: ccsf.homeunix.org!ccsf.homeunix.org!news1.wakwak.com!nf1.xephion.ne.jp!onion.ish.org!onodera-news!newsfeed.media.kyoto-u.ac.jp!newsfeed.icl.net!newsfeed.fjserv.net!news.maxwell.syr.edu!postnews1.google.com!not-for-mail From: ken_nicolson@hotmail.com (Ken Yasumoto-Nicolson) Newsgroups: fj.life.in-japan Subject: Re: First time I've seen that on Japanese telly! Date: 5 Jan 2004 22:46:48 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Lines: 65 Message-ID: <6afefaef.0401052246.2aa3e3f0@posting.google.com> References: <6afefaef.0401051614.65266978@posting.google.com> <3FFA10D4.87CC38AC@yahoo.co.jp> NNTP-Posting-Host: 202.228.229.71 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Trace: posting.google.com 1073371608 1927 127.0.0.1 (6 Jan 2004 06:46:48 GMT) X-Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2004 06:46:48 +0000 (UTC) Xref: ccsf.homeunix.org fj.life.in-japan:9804 Eric Takabayashi wrote in message news:<3FFA10D4.87CC38AC@yahoo.co.jp>... > Ken Yasumoto-Nicolson wrote: > > > > > My wife pointed out she already does consultations for up to 3 million > > yen a session, so she was just playing for a couple of days' salary, > > but even with remarkably easy questions she still failed on the last > > one. > > Yeah, I don't get why these Japanese celebrities, some of whom make > millions of dollars a year, are the ones playing for what amounts to > pocket money (and bitching when they don't win or make a mistake) or tiny > trinkets such as inch tall crystal figurines, instead of allowing common > people to play and win more than postcard drawings during the closing > credits. Actually, I don't mind these Swarovski (sp!) crystal figures as they are relatively cheap prizes - it's the regular shows with a holiday at the end - what really does happen to the prizes? The talents are certainly not taking the holidays they win! The most evil, I think, is Sanma's Karakuri TV - a big prize, talent gets first shot, then the studio or viewers at home go into the hat. > > I was taken by how similar their portrayal of that situation > > was to the endless Japanese shows where we see inside rich people's > > homes and are supposed to be impressed by the price tags on the > > wall-to-wall shite they have piled up. > > I love those shows. I'll never forget the guy who went from being someone > who never went to high school, to the richest guy in town. He started a > construction company and now has a five floor replica of a Japanese > castle on a hill (appointed inside with purple crushed velvet, etc., to > make it look like a hostess club or love hotel) and has a stable of > exotic cars such as a Lamborghini Countach he claimed was his car for > going out to eat ramen. Just the plain looking metal door on the gate to > the house cost 30 million yen. We always laugh when they come up with the price tag on an average-looking item like that sort of thing! They are meant to be taken seriously (I think?) but as they say, a fool and his money are easily parted. > He had two high school aged kids who were > embarrassed. The little shits should try growing up poor to learn to > appreciate what they have. I don't know if you saw Sanma's Dreams Come True or whatever show on Sunday - they had two typical Shibuya 16 year-olds, hair dye and inch-thick make-up, who had a dream to swim in an oasis. They got invited to the Sahara, so you saw them at the airport, showing off the designer shades and skimpy swimsuits they'd bought. Off they went to meet this Beduin family at an oasis, who told them that one had dried up, but they were welcome to come along for the ride to the next, 100 km or more away. The catch was they had to push the cart behind the camel, had about 1 litre each per day of water, no bath, etc, etc for the three day trip. One got some eye injury patched up - not stopping her pasting the other eye with mascara - both had their feet blistered, etc. This was interspersed with interviews with their parents who hoped the experience would knock some sense into them. They eventually (and eventfully) got to the next oasis, raced on ahead for their swim, only to find it all dried up too. I thought that made really good telly. Ken